Senior Pastor Transition Process
Dr. Silvernail's retirement is effective January 1, 2027, marking 30 years at Potomac Hills.
This page serves as a tool to keep the congregation informed about the Senior Pastor Transition Process.
It will be the Lord himself who brings the next pastor to this church.
The newest updates will appear first.
PSC Update #1, July 12, 2026 - text of announcement made during the Worship Service:
Good morning, Church Family. I’m George Eichert and represent the Pastoral Search Committee. I’m here to give you an update on our progress. As previously announced, the search committee members are Ann Marie Varley, Cilla Kamakawiwoole, our two Courtney’s, Hasseman and Stine, John Spence, Josh Luckenbaugh, Phoebe Rist and Tom Gardner. At our first meeting, I was elected to serve as chair of the committee, and Tom was selected to serve as our secretary. The Session also selected alternates earlier this week. It’s important to have alternates in the event someone from the search committee needs to be excused from serving. The committee alternates are Casey Palme, Greg Swedo, Jim Sigmund and Ken Colley.
As you might expect, we are in the beginning stages of our journey. To date, the committee has met twice as a group and Mike Sharrett, who provided valuable coaching to the Transition team, has also participated and is helping us get off to a good start. This past week we posted the job opening on the PCA website, we’ve communicated with all 16 Reformed University Fellowship (or RUF) coordinators so they are aware and have our application packet, likewise we’ve contacted all 87 Presbytery’s point of contact so they are also aware of this pastoral opening and finally, we have reached out to the Westminster Theological Seminaries in California and Philadelphia, the Reformed Theological Seminaries in Orlando, Jackson, Charlotte, Dallas, Atlanta, New York, Houston and here in Washington DC, and lastly we are also in the process of contacting the Covenant Theological Seminary. Finally, I’d like to ask all of you to contact anyone you know that is either interested and qualified themselves or may know of someone else that may be interested and qualified to be our next Senior Pastor. As a reminder, our church website has a transition page and the link to our Senior Pastor packet. Please also pass on to any of the search committee members any other ideas on where or how we should reach out to expand our search, or how we might better accomplish our mission.
We have also begun creating a welcome video about our church. Our intent is to include this with our Senior Pastor applicant packet to help potential candidates both understand and appreciate Potomac Hills. Phoebe has drafted up a script and we’re in the process of shooting various scenes that show what life and worship is like at Potomac Hills. Tom Knopp has graciously volunteered to help Phoebe and our team edit the raw video footage and make it into a polished post-production video. We are looking for volunteers to either be interviewed or otherwise participate. If you may be interested, please reach out to Phoebe.
There is a lot of work ahead. We will be developing our applicant evaluation and interview strategy, where we think Mike Sharrett’s experience will help us, and we’re praying a lot for God’s guidance and to give us strength, wisdom, energy, perseverance and patience. The Committee’s intent is to give you an update monthly or more frequently if needed. We’ll typically provide the update on the second Sunday of the month and plan to rotate who from the committee delivers the update.
Finally, on Friday, after we’d posted the position, we received applications from three candidates. And then last night, we received two more applications. We will begin the review process this week and while it’s good that we already have some applicants, I suggest we not get too excited just yet. This will likely be a long process. The good news is the word about our Senior Pastor position is getting out.
In closing, if anyone has a question, please contact me and I’ll ensure it’s addressed. Thank you for your time and the committee asks for your prayers as we seek to do God’s will. Thank you.
Friday, June 19, 2026 - The PHPC Senior Pastor Packet, encompassing the church profile and pastor profile developed by the Transition Team, has been finalized. Check it out HERE.
May 31, 2026 - The Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) was elected at a congregational meeting. The members of the PSC are: Phoebe Rist, John Spence, Ann Marie Varley, Courtney Hasseman, Courtney Stine, Tom Gardner, Priscilla Kamakawiwoole, George Eichert, and Josh Luckenbaugh. Please be in prayer for them throughout this process!
May 29, 2026 - The following letter was sent to the congregation regarding the election of the PSC to be held on May 31st.
Church Family,
We want to update you regarding the upcoming election of a Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) this Sunday, May 31st. The Session has a number of recommendations regarding the composition and qualifications of the PSC. Our recommendations are advisory only and not binding on the congregation.
The Session is recommending a committee composed of the congregation at large to include …
· At least 1 Elder
· At least 1 Deacon
· At least 2 Transition Team members
· At least one young adult (ages 18–32)
· At least one newer member (less than 10 years)
· A good mix of men and women
The Session recommends you elect people who will be here for the first several years of the new Senior Pastor’s tenure.
Members will be expected to be a part of a team committed to working together in unity as the Pastoral Search Committee seeks to find God’s choice for our next Senior Pastor.
Members ought to be spiritually mature individuals who are able to put the needs of the church ahead of their own.
The congregation will choose the size of the Pastoral Search Committee. The Session recommendation is for nine members, which is big enough to get the job done without being too much of a burden on individuals, but not so big as to be unwieldy in accomplishing the tasks assigned. If this recommendation (which will be voted on at the congregational meeting) is approved by the congregation, you will be asked to vote for no more than nine members.
A copy of the ballot is included here (note: provided to members via email, not posted on the website). There are thirteen nominees, and they are listed according to how long they have been members of Potomac Hills. Please pray for every nominee on this list. Pray that they would exercise wisdom. Pray that they will understand and accept the commitment involved. Pray for grace for those nominated, but not elected.
If you have any questions beyond what’s included here or on the transition updates page, please reach out to any member of the Session. You can find updates at https://www.potomachills.org/pastor-transition.
Sincerely and prayerfully,
The Session of Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church
Ruling Elder Wade Baker Ruling Elder Mark Rist
Ruling Elder Tom Gardner Teaching Elder David Silvernail
Ruling Elder Frank Pugh Teaching Elder Frank Wang
May 20, 2026 - The congregation met for a prayer meeting to pray about the Senior Pastor search. The prayer guide is HERE.
May 10, 2026 - The Transition Team announces its work is finished, and the Pastoral Search Committee process begins. Watch the full update below:
May 9, 2026 - Update on the formation of the Pastoral Search Committee
CLICK HERE for an update from the Session regarding the formation of a Pastoral Search Committee (PSC).
CLICK HERE for the Pastoral Search Committee Nomination Form and Instructions.
April 24, 2026 Transition Team Meeting
Minutes:
Devotion: Biblical encouragement in what a church is and does
Finalize Pastor Profile
Finalize Church Profile
Review Session Recommendations
Plan a congregational update
Actions:
Deliver documents to Session
Congregational Update
April 10, 2026 - The Transition Team met to discuss:
Pastor Profile - Discussion to work towards a solid second draft.
Church Profile - Discussion to work towards a solid second draft.
Actions - One more review of each document, before finalization at next meeting.
March 20, 2026 - Transition Team meeting to review survey responses and begin first drafts of the pastor profile and church profile.
March 1, 2026 - Surveys were handed out by the Transition Team to the congregation to get input that will be used to develop the Church Profile and Pastor Profile. Survey responses are due March 22nd. There will be a number of discussion sessions in the next two weeks to give feedback as well.
February 27, 2026
Transition Team Meeting:
This meeting focused heavily on details, processes, and timelines especially for the survey.
• Devotional
• Review of Transition Team Purpose and Process
• Discussion on Timeline for Group Feedback
• Group Discussion Details
• Overall Timeline Discussion
• Approach for Facilitating Group Discussion
• Next Meeting (3/13) Plan
February 20, 2026
Transition team meeting:
- Finalized the congregation survey
- Adjusted timeline for survey rollout
- Planned for group discussions regarding the survey
January 30, 2026
This was the first meeting of the Transition Team. The team plans to meet roughly every other Friday, with ad hoc meetings as needed. We hope to provide brief minutes from each meeting so the congregation can get a sense of what's happening.
- Discussed the team's purpose
- Discussed the three documents we'll produce: suggestions to Session, a church profile, and a pastor profile
- Began planning how to gather input from the congregation
- Set a target completion date of June 1, 2026 for the transition team's work
February 1, 2026 - The Transition Team members are announced: Wade Baker, Andy Pogany, George Eichert (Chair), Matt Zollinhofer (Secretary), Sue Swedo, Courtney Stine, Priscilla Kamakawiwoole, Gail Spence, Paula Palkovic. See the video below for more information.
Pastoral Letter for a Faithful Church January 11, 2026
Dear friends,
Have I mentioned that I’m retiring? Perhaps you’ve heard that. Well, it’s true. And that means we’re moving ahead with our transition plans. As Ruling Elder Mark Rist shared with you at our Annual Meeting on December 7th, we have been planning on contracting with a “Transition Coach” to guide, advise, train, and, well, coach us as we move into what is somewhat new territory for us as a church.
I’m pleased to announce that the Session has decided it would be wise for us to work with Teaching Elder Mike Sharrett of Lynchburg, VA. Mike is well-known in the PCA and in our presbytery as a wise and gracious pastor who has helped a number of churches navigate the transition process. Mike will start meeting with our Session immediately and the Transition Team as soon as it is formed. You can learn more about him at www.mikesharrett.com.
You should know a little bit about Mike since he’ll be involved with our transition, so here’s his bio —Mike and Janice met at Gettysburg College and have been married for 47 years. After graduate school at the University of Virginia and Westminster Seminary, the Lord has taken them on a journey to serve churches in Charlottesville, VA., Ft. Worth, TX., and Lynchburg, VA., by both planting new churches and nurturing the work of RUF. Mike more recently has served as an interim pastor in the Philly suburbs, in College Park, MD., Charlottesville, VA., and two churches in the Tidewater area. Janice retired from teaching middle school math, science and Bible for a classical Christian school in Lynchburg and enjoys reading, nature stuff, and being “Jammy” to her grands. Mike enjoys model trains and outdoorsy stuff. They enjoy the beach, the mountains, and walks.
Mike has written two books, Watching Over The Heart (https://a.co/d/ikoetNu) and Watching the Path of Your Feet (https://a.co/d/6hRpHjY), and as you can see by the links, both books are available on Amazon.
As with all transition news, we’ll keep you updated through a dedicated page on our website, https://www.potomachills.org/pastor-transition The Session and Pastor Sharrett encourage everyone to join us in continued prayer for the Lord to work in us and through us all for His glory during this important season in the life of Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church. Let’s mark this transition time as spiritually mature people who trust God, trust God’s Word, and trust God’s Work in our Church.
So let me close with a verse that’s a good reminder for us during this season of transition, Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
All of Grace – Beginning to End,
Dr. David V. Silvernail, Jr., Senior Pastor
Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church
November 2025 - We enter a season of prayer for our pastoral transition. The current month's prayer theme will be posted on this page; the congregation is encouraged to share their own prayers in Realm (our internal communications forum).
January - December, 2025 - The Session meets regularly for prayer and discussion of the transition process and timeline.
December 8, 2024 - Dr. Silvernail announces he will retire as of January 1, 2027.